Digital dentistry hits new standards

Stratasys has launched the Objet260 Dental Selection 3D Printer at the International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany.

The new 3D printer is designed to help mid- to large-sized dental and orthodontic labs grow their business by producing realistic models with true-to-life look and feel as part of their end-to-end digital dentistry workflow, including intra-oral scanners.

“We are using the Objet260 Dental Selection 3D Printer to produce realistic 3D printed gingiva masks and models we couldn’t do before. We have not had 3D printed dental models that so closely resemble the actual teeth and gums,” said Stefan Remplbauer, general manager of Austria-based 3DMedicalPrint. “The initial reactions from our customers, which include dental technicians, dentists and surgeons, have been extremely positive. This is definitely going to help set 3DMedicalPrint apart from our competitors.”

The printer allows dental and orthodontic labs to enjoy unprecedented realism of the stone models. This permits the production of life-like gum textures for precise functional testing, as well as a wide range of shades for customised colour matching.

The Objet260 Dental Selection 3D Printer is compatible with all PolyJet dental materials, plus an array of dental-specific material palettes to produce life-like colors and textures for teeth and gums. This allows users to serve a broader range of dental applications with a single system, reducing equipment costs. These usages span implant testing with stone models that mimic the look and feel of real gingiva for accurate functional evaluation, as well as models with rigid features that require gum-like materials. Labs can print surgical guides directly from CBCT scan data, with high-definition tooth, root and nerve-canal anatomy rendered in contrasting materials to help prevent dental nerve injury.

“With the introduction of the Objet260 Dental Selection, Stratasys is closing the loop in digital dentistry by providing a 3D printer that can take the color digital file resulting from the intra-oral scanner and transform it into a color, multi-texture dental model. This directly contributes to better accuracy for the dental practitioners and better understanding for the patients,” said Avi Cohen, Director of Global Dental at Stratasys.